working with and balancing LADWP city water

[dmuenke]

I use Leslie's 3" TriChlor tabs in a floating chlorinator. I replaced 1/2 the pool water earlier this spring. I continually have a low PH and have to add soda ash fairly regularly to keep PH in recommended range. The LADWP city water used to fill is typically hard, hence I do see some calcium on water line on occasion. Any thought why I have to battle the chronically low PH? I run my filter about 8-10 hours daily during swimming season with light usage. Water is clear with no algae.

 

[jblizzle]

Sure. Your pH is always low because you are using trichlor tablets which are acidic ... they also continually add CYA which builds up and requires you to replace water to lower it back down.

These side-effects are why we do not normally recommend the exclusive use of tablets ... especially in areas of the country with long pool seasons and not a ton of rain.

Have you discovered Pool School yet? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[dmuenke]

Thanks. What would you recommend I use for sanitizing purposes in lieu of, or to supplement the usage of the 3" trichlor tabs, to eliminate the constant introduction of CYA, to tame the acidic PH level - and without introducing another chemical that might create another imbalance (like alkalinity, etc.)?

 

[domct203]

Thanks. What would you recommend I use for sanitizing purposes in lieu of, or to supplement the usage of the 3" trichlor tabs, to eliminate the constant introduction of CYA, to tame the acidic PH level - and without introducing another chemical that might create another imbalance (like alkalinity, etc.)?

jblizzle already supplied links that will answer that question, see the second link titled 'recommended pool chemicals' for what we recommend (it's liquid chlorine, aka bleach)

 

[dmuenke]

Got it now - thank you. Do you recommend discontinuing use of 3" trichlor tabs all together?

 

[jblizzle]

It depends on what your cya level is. What test kit are you using?